1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to restraint systems for use when traveling with a child which are designed to protect the child as a vehicle occupant. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a child travel restraint system which provides multiple configurations for use in land vehicles as well as aircraft, and to a method of providing a vehicle restraint when traveling by land vehicle and by aircraft within a given trip.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Restraining a child in a vehicle is critically important to their personal safety. This is true whether the child is traveling as a passenger in a land vehicle or an aircraft. In the present context, the term land vehicle is intended to include vehicles having at least one passenger seat and that are designed to travel on land, such as on dirt or on paved road surfaces, including for example, automobiles, sport utility vehicles, vans or trucks. Similarly, the term aircraft as used herein is intended to include vehicles having at least one passenger seat and that are designed to travel by air, such as commercial or private airplanes or jets.
Depending on the physical size or maturity of a child, it is common to use a portable device known as a child safety seat or car seat when restraining a child in a land vehicle. Indeed, it is common within the United States that individual States have laws that require use of a child safety seat in particular configurations when children are traveling in a land vehicle. State laws typically relate to anticipated levels of physical maturity based on age or size. For example, a State may have laws that follow recommendations from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The NHTSA recommends that a child from birth to at least one year old and at least twenty pounds be restrained in a child safety seat in a rearward facing direction and which is located in a rear seat of a land vehicle. This presumably is intended to protect such a small child who would not have adequate strength in the neck to resist the head potentially moving forward in a violent manner in a frontal crash or extreme braking maneuver. The NHTSA further recommends that from about age one and at least twenty pounds up until about age four and at least forty pounds, a child should be restrained in a forward facing child safety seat that is located in a rear seat of a land vehicle. Recognizing that children beyond this age and size are still at an elevated risk, the NHTSA recommends the use of a child booster seat to raise the child's pelvic region when on a seat from about age four and at least forty pounds up until the child is age eight or at least 4′9″ tall. After reaching such age or size, the NHTSA recommends that a child use a lap and shoulder belt, which typically are provided as standard equipment in modern land vehicles, and that the child still be seated in a rear seat of a land vehicle until reaching the age of twelve, at which time the child may appropriately use the standard seat belt restraints in a front or rear seat of a land vehicle. These recommendations, and the State laws that are fashioned in a similar manner, ultimately are intended for the protection and well-being of children when traveling in a land vehicle, which in today's society often is a daily occurrence.
Rules also apply to the restraint of children in aircraft. For instance, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires that a very young child under age two need not be in a separate seat, and can be either held on the lap of an adult or buckled into a child safety seat, such as is used in a land vehicle, with the child safety seat installed on an aircraft passenger seat. Indeed, it is fairly widely recommended that children be in a child safety seat until the child is at least four years old and at least forty pounds. Beyond this age, a child may be seated in an aircraft passenger seat and use the standard lap belt provided by the aircraft manufacturer. Unfortunately, these rules are less than ideal for the safety of children. For instance, holding a child on an adult's lap may subject the child to a potential of being crushed by the adult's upper body in the event of a crash. Further, a relatively young child being buckled into an aircraft passenger seat by only a lap belt presents a similar physical maturity dilemma sought to be overcome in land vehicles by use of child safety seats or booster seats until an older age.
To date there is no known universal child restraint system that is capable of being configured in multiple ways so as to provide enhanced restraint safety for a child, regardless of the child's age and in which type of vehicle the child will be traveling. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a restraint system that may be used in both land vehicles and aircraft, at a variety of child ages, and that is equipped to be configured for use in a method of travel throughout a trip, which accommodates either type of vehicle being used in a respective segment of a trip. It also is desirable to provide a way in which to convert a standard child safety seat to a more universal child travel restraint system, so as to achieve the above desirable features. Moreover, it is advantageous to provide a protective travel bag incorporated into a total child travel restraint system.
The present invention addresses shortcomings in prior art child restraint systems, while providing the above mentioned desirable features.